History

The Montreal Impact was officially created on December 10, 1992, in a hotel in downtown Montreal, as the Saputo Group announced the acquisition of a franchise in the APSL (American Professionnal Soccer League). In the presence of Montreal mayor Jean Doré, the president of the new Club, Joey Saputo, league commissioner Bill Sage, the president of the Saputo Group, Lino Saputo and general manager Pino Asaro, the team, which still doesn't have a name or coach, announces that it will begin its operations in 1993 at the Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard.

A few days before the start of the 1994 season, Valerio Gazzola takes over as head coach and leads the Impact to the championship final. With a 12-8 record in the regular season, the Club makes the playoffs and defeats Los Angeles Salsa in the semi-finals. On October 15, 1994, in front of a sold-out crowd of 8,169 people at the Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard, the Impact triumphs with a 1-0 victory over the Colorado Foxes, giving the city its first professionnal soccer championship. A few days later, the players and members of the technical team, including captain Patrice Ferri, coach Valerio Gazzola and the author of the winning goal, Jean Harbor, paraded on Sainte-Catherine street.

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From 1995 to 1997, the Montreal Impact was a dominant team. Led by experienced players such as Mauro Biello and Nick De Santis, it finishes three seasons in a row in first place in the new A-League, North America's second professionnal soccer division, setting historic records for the number of regular season wins (16 in 1995, 21 in 1996 and 1997). Thanks to these numerous successes, the Club establishes itself as a league powerhouse. Drawing from public and media attention, the Impact attracts many of the best Canadian players of the era, including Carl Fletcher, Eddy Berdusco and Ian Carter. However, the team led by head coach Valerio Gazzola, in spite of positive individual and collective performances, does not manage to win a playoff title.

In 2001, now under new ownership, the Impact faces serious financial difficulties. The team struggles to finish the season and is placed under league supervision. Joey Saputo takes control of the team to complete the season and proposes a five-year plan to relaunch the Club. Restructured as a non-profit organization whose profits will go to the development of soccer in Quebec, the Impact counts on the support of the Quebec government, Hydro-Québec and Saputo as major partners, therefore ensuring its survival. To underline this major change, the team introduces a new logo that clearly symbolizes its mission to develop soccer in Quebec.

With the creaton of its Academy on March 17, 2010, the Bleu-blanc-noir becomes a club with a pathway starting with youth teams all the way up to its professional roster. The Club's Academy's aim is to prepare the future and give itself the means to train homegrown players according to its own identity and philosophy of play while focusing on their academic success through the sport-études program.

Since the foundation of the Academy, more than twenty players trained at the Club have signed a contract with the first team, while more than fifty have reached professionnal ranks in other leagues and dozens have obtained univeristy scholarships in Canada and abroad.

Starting in 2016, with the opening of the Nutrilait Center, Academy players train in the same facilities as the professionals.

''It was never ''if'', but ''when''. And the ''when'' is now, and i'ts about time.'' With these words, Montreal Impact president Joey Saputo confirmed the arrival of North America's first division soccer league in Montreal. Firmly convinced that Montreal deserved its place in soccer's top league, the owner of the Bleu-blanc-noir actively worked to bring an MLS franchise to the city. In the process, the Saputo family reiterates its engagement to grow the sport, in Montreal and in Quebec, after having founded the Club in 1993. The Impact becomes the 19th team in MLS, entering the league for the 2012 season.

The Bleu-blanc-noir officially makes its debut in Major League Soccer (MLS), the first division of soccer in North America, with a brand new team logo, but also some new faces: Donovan Ricketts, Davy Arnaud, Nelson Rivas and Zarek Valentin, to name a few. But its biggest acquisition comes in the form of its first Designated Player, Marco Di Vaio, signed on May 24, 2012. A few weeks later, the Impact come to an agreement with legendary Italian center-back Alessandro Nesta. With head coach Jesse Marsch at the helm, the team struggles in its first year, but finishes just two spots shy of a playoff berth with a record of 12-16-6. The Club's first goal in MLS was scored by captain Davy Arnaud, the second game of the season, against the Chicago Fire at Olympic Stadium in front of a crowd of 58,912.

For the 2012 season, with the Club's transition to MLS, major work is done to expand Stade Saputo. Thanks to a financial contribution of $23 million from the Government of Quebec, the number of seats is increased by nearly 60% and the number of boxes and mezzanines jumps from 16 to over 40. Over the years, several additional investments to improve premium spaces bring the stadium's capacity to 19,619 seats.

The Montreal Impact Foundation is first and foremost a leagacy of the 20th anniversary that the team celebrated in 2013. Its mission is to organize and support activities to improve the quality of life of underprivileged children and their families. It predominantly provides sports facilities to promote physical activity, and social integration. It has developed multisport mini-fields in Montreal and across Quebec, such as Parc Champdoré in the Saint-Michel district in 2018, Parc Joe-Beef in the Pointe-Saint-Charles district in 2019, Parc Paul-André Potvin in Shawinigan in 2021, Parc du Moulin in Laval in 2022, and the La Tuque ski resort in La Tuque in 2023.

With the support of BMO, the Foundation has raised over $4 million since its creation.

The Impact begins the 2016 season with coach Mauro Biello at the helm. The Club finishes the season fifth in the East with an 11-11-12 record and qualifies for the playoffs for the third time in five MLS seasons. After a first round win over D.C. United, the Bleu-blanc-noir surprises the East's top team, the New York Red Bulls, with game-winning goals from Matteo Mancosu in the first leg and Ignacio Piatti in the second.

In the Eastern Conference final, the Impact faces its great rival, Toronto FC. It will be a battle that will long remain in our memories. A thrilling first leg in front of a full house at Olympic Stadium ends with a 3-2 victory for the Bleu-blanc-noir. However, the second leg ends 3-2 in Toronto's favor, thus forcing extra-time. Toronto scores twice and after an epic battle, the Impact finally loses 7-5 on aggregate.

On the occasion of its 25th anniversary, the Club announces the creation of the Wall of Fame, a permanent space at Stade Saputo, to honor the players who have marked the
Club’s history and who have distinguished themselves in a significant way throughout their career, both with the team and throughout the league. Players are selected based on the following criteria: a minimum of 100 games, having been retired from professional soccer for at least five years and having played a first game with the Club at least 15 years ago. Since its creation, the following players have been inducted into the Wall of Fame: Nevio Pizzolitto (2018), Gabriel Gervais (2018), Greg Sutton (2019), Mauro Biello (2022), Patrice Bernier (2023) and Ignacio Piatti (2024).

Just after starting the 2020 season, and while the team is participating in the quartefinals of the Concacaf Champions League, competitions are suddenly interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. A few months later, the Impact begins its forced exile to the United States for the MLS is Back tournament, played in Orlando in July and August. During the tournament games, head coach Thierry Henry took a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. After the MLS is Back tournament, the MLS season resumes but the pandemic forces the Club to play games in nearly empty stadiums due to health measures. In a truncated season, the Impact reaches the MLS Cup playoffs for the first time in four years.

In a game played at Stade Saputo at a latest date ever in a calendar year, CF Montréal defeats Toronto FC 1-0 to win the 2021 Canadian Championship in front of a crowd of 12,000, the maximum allowed by government authorities in the context of health measures. Goalkeeper Sebastian Breza wins the George Gross Trophy as the tournament's most outstanding player. CF Montréal wins a fifth title in the history of the Canadian Championship* and qualifies for the 2022 Concacaf Champions League.

*From 2002 to 2007, the Voyageurs Cup trophy is awarded to the Canadian Club with the highest ranking in the USL. During this period, the Montreal Impact won the title six times. Starting in 2008, the trophy is awarded to the winner of the Canadian Championship. Between 2002 and 2022, Montreal won the Voyageurs Cup 11 times.